Timer drowse mechanism



July 6, 1965 r. F; RING ETAL TIMER DROWSE MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 51, 1963 July 6, 1965 F. RING ETAL TIMER DROWSE MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1963 July 6, 1965 T. F. RING ETAL 3,192,776

TIMER DRQWSE MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORfi'. fA dlf/f ADP/I;

United States Patent 3,192,776 TIMER DROWE lldECHANlSM F. Ring and Raymond A. Keane, Athens, Ga, assignors to General Time (Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 31, 1963, Ser. No. 293,976 '7 Qiaims. (til. '74--3.5)

This invention relates generally to switch controlling timers and more particularly concerns a drowse mechanism for such timers.

Timers which display the time as does a conventional clock and which also operate a switch have come into widespread use for giving a form of automatic control over a variety of electrically operated devices. One of the best known of such devices is perhaps the clock radio. Such timers, in addition to a clock face with hour, minute and second hands, include a control shaft having ON, OFF and AUTO positions. In the ON and OFF positions, the timer switch is so operated. In the AUTO position, the switch is conditioned for operation at a preselected time, as indicated by the clock hands.

A drowse mechanism performs the function of restoring the switch to its nonoperated condition for a short interval following which the switch is again operated. A typical sequence in operation of a clock radio is for the user to turn the control shaft ON at night to operate the radio for a timed period. Before retiring, the shaft is set in the AUTO position to turn the radio off and condition it for automatic operation in the morning. At the selected time, the radio comes on, but the user presses the drowse button to bring the drowse mechanism into operation. As a result, the radio is turned off for the drowse interval and again comes on following this interval. When leaving the radio, the control shaft is turned to the OFF position so as to silence the radio.

it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel drowse mechanism of the above type having few, peripherally positioned parts so as to make the mechanism suitable for use in a very compact switch controlling timer. In a practical embodiment of the invention, the frame plate dimensions of the timer are approximately 2 by 3% inches and the included drowse mechanism does not extend into the central region of the timer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism as characterized above which is quiet in operation. A further object is to provide a mechanism of this kind which produces a consistent, accurately predetermined drowse interval, and which functions only when the timer is set for the AUTO mode of operation.

Yet another object is to provide a drowse mechanism having the above advantages which can be economically manufactured.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which:

FlGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partially in section, of a timer embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan of the timer shown in FIG. 1 with portions broken away;

FIG. 3 is a perspective of certain portions of the timer shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c are reduced, somewhat diagrammatic, plans of portions of the timer mechanism shown in FIG. 3 with the parts occupying different positions in the three views; and

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are plans of the timer mechanism shown in FIG. 3 with the parts occupying three different positions of operation.

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that We do not intend to limit the invention to that embodi- 3,192,776 Patented July 6, 1965 ment. On the contrary, we intend to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a timer 1t) embodying the invention and including a timing train 11 and an electrical switch 12 mounted on frame plates 13 and. 14. The timing train ll is driven by a synchronous motor 15 whose output pinion 16 meshes with a second wheel 1'7 that is fixed to a shaft 18 carrying a second hand 19. A minute hand 26 is secured to a sleeve 21 on the shaft 13 and carries a minute wheel 22 that is coupled by a pinion 233 and a gear wheel 24 to a pinion 25 that supports the second wheel 17 and is secured to the shaft ill. An hour hand 26 is secured to a sleeve 27, fitted over the sleeve 21, which carries an hour wheel 28 that is coupled by a pinion 29 and a gear wheel lit to a pinion 31 that supports the minute wheel 22 and is secured to the sleeve 21. The above described timing train operates in a convenional manner to rotate the hands 19, 2t? and 26 at the proper rates from the synchronous motor 15.

The switch 12 has an operating slide 35 that is controlled by a shiftable operator 36 which is mounted on a frame post 37 for pivoting and rocking movement. The operator 36 is biased by a spring 38 anchored to the frame plate 13 so that the operator is urged toward the frame plate 13 and counterclockwise in the drawings so as to carry a finger 39, formed on the operator, away from the switch slide 35. Preferably, the switch 12 is of the normally closed type and is open when the operator finger 39 rotates clockwise and shifts the switch slide 35 upwardly in FIG. 2 and to the right in FIGS. 3 and 4. The force of the spring 38 urging the operator 36 toward the plate l3 tends to move a ledge 46 on the operator 36 into engagement with a frame lug 41 carried on the plate 13. With the ledge resting against the lug 41 under the urging of the spring 33, the finger 39 engages the switch slide 35 so as to hold the switch 12. in operated, open condition.

To manually position the switch operator 35, a positionable selector 45 is mounted on a function shaft 46 that is controlled by a knob 47 (see FIG. 3). The selector 45 includes an abutment 3-8 and a cam 49. In the AUTO position of the function shaft 4d, shown in FIG. 4a, both the abutment 4-3 and the cam 49 clear the operator 36. In the OFF position, shown in FIG. 4b, the abutment 48 engages the operator 3-6 and swings it clockwise into its switch operating position wherein the switch slide 35 is slid to the right and the swi ch 12 is held open. In the ON position, shown in FIG. 40, the abutment 48 releases the operator as for counterclockwise swinging movement and the cam 49 swings the operator outwardly from the frame plate 13 so that the ledge is lifted over the lug 41, whereupon the spring 38 pulls the operator 36 counterclockwise from its switch operating position closing the switch 12.

Establishing click stops for the selector is a spring detent element 51 which fits into alternate ones of a series of not hes 52 formed at the pivot point of the selector 45. Three notches 52; are provided which correspond to the AUTO, ON and OFF positions of the selector.

For automatically operating the switch 12, the hour wheel 28 is formed with cam abutments 55 which cooperate with abutments 56 formed on a positionable alarm gear 57. The alarm gear 57 is mounted on a sleeve 58 which also carries an alarm indicator hand 59. At the pre-set time, the abutments 55, 56 come together so as to cam the hour wheel 28 from the alarm gear 57, the sleeve 27 sliding within the sleeve 58, with the result that the hour Wheel 28 engages a finger 60 on the operator 36 so as to lift the operator from the lug 41. Thus, with the selector 45 in the AUTO FIG. 4a position, axial shifting movement of the hour wheel 28 at the pre-set alarm time causes the operator 36 to be moved away from the frame plate 13 until the ledge 4t) clears the lug 41, whereupon the spring 38 shifts the operator 36 to the dashed line position shown in FIG. 4a to thereby discontinue operation of the switch 12 and, hence, close the switch.

In accordance with the invention, the timer It} is provided with a drowse mechanism including a drowse cam 65 positioned at the periphery of the timing train 11. In the preferred embodiment, the drowse cam 65 has a toothed periphery 66 and is carried on a shaft 67 pivoted between the frame plates 13, 14 with its upper end slidable as well as rotatable in a slot 68 formed in the frame plate 14. The cam 65 is thus shiftably and rotatably mounted with its toothed periphery 66 adjacent the teeth of the minute wheel 22. The drowse cam 65 moves from a cocked position, shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, to a released, operative position shown in FIG. 6. A torsion spring 69 biases the cam 65 away from the minute wheel 22 and counterclockwise as seen in the drawings; that is, in the direction of rotation of the minute wheel 22.

The drowse cam 65 and the switch operator 36 are interconnected so that the drowse cam is held in cocked position until the operator is moved against its bias to the switch operating position. In the illustrated construction, a cam and follower interconnection is provided between the cam 65 and the operator 36 which includes a follower finger 71 on the operator 36 and a cam slot 72 in the drowse cam 65. The slot 72 has a first, radially extending segment 73 which allows the operator 36 to move to and from its operating position without shifting the drowse cam and which also holds the drowse cam against the bias of the spring 69 in its cocked position. The slot 72 also has a second, arcuate segment 74 which allows the drowse cam 65 to rotate from its cocked position when the operator 36 is in its switch operating position so as to place the finger 71 within the slot segment 74.

The bias on the operator 36 is stronger than that on the drowse cam 65 so that, with the finger 71 in the second slot segment 74, the operator 36 carries the drowse cam 65 against the periphery of the minute wheel 22 with the result that the cam 65 props the operator in its switch operating position,

The operation of the drowse mechanism can now be readily seen. The drowse cam 65 is normally held in its cocked FIG. position by engagement of the operator finger 71 within the first slot segment 73. Momentarily moving the operator clockwise to its switch operating position releases the drowse cam 65 by bringing the finger 71 into the second, arcuate segment 74 of the cam slot 72. The cam is then free to swing under the force of its biasing spring 69 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in the drawings. When manual pressure on the operator 36 is released, the operator pulls the cam toothed periphery 66 against the teeth of the minute wheel 22 so that the drowse cam 65 holds or props the operator in its switch operating position. This is the condition of the parts shown in FIG. 6. Rotation of the minute wheel 22 in its counterclockwise direction turns the drowse cam 65 in a clockwise direction until the operator finger 71 reaches the end of .the arcuate segment 74 and moves into the radial segment 73 of the slot 72. The operator 36 is thereby freed for shifting movement under the force of the spring 38 in a counterclockwise direction back from its switch operating position to the position shown in FIG. 5.

To initiate the drowse interval, any convenient slide member or lever can be used to rotate the operator 36 to its switch operating position, or to shift the switch operator slide 35 in its switch operating direction. Such a lever or operating member could be mounted either on the timer frame or as a part of the unit in which the timer is mounted. Because of the flexibility of choice which is available, no specific device has been illustrated herein.

To insure that the drowse mechanism is effective only when the timer is in AUTO condition, a lever 8t? is pivoted on the post 37 and biased counterclockwise by a spring 31 toward a position in which the lever 80 blocks rotation of the drowse cam 65 by engaging an arm 82 fixed to the drowse cam shaft. With the parts positioned as shown in FIG. 7, that is, with the lever 30 engaging the arm 82 at a point spaced from the axis of the drowse cam shaft 67, the drowse cam 65 cannot shift from its cocked position even though the switch operator 36 is moved into operated position and the finger 71 is disposed within the arcuate segment 74 of the cam slot 72. The lever 80 is formed with a finger portion 83 which is engaged by the selector 45 when the latter is in AUTO position so as to swing the lever 89 clockwise, the position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, to thereby clear the cam shaft arm 82. This, of course, releases the drowse cam 65 for operation of the drowse mechanism in the manner discussed above. It can thus be seen that the drowse mechanism functions only when the timer is placed in the AUTO condition by shifting the selector 45 to its FIG. position.

Moreover, rotation of the selector from its AUTO, FIG. 4a, position during the drowse interval immediately terminates that interval by interrupting the drowse mechanism. This results from the force of the spring 81 which swings the lever counterclockwise against the arm 82 to rotate the shaft 67 clockwise when the selector 45 moves from AUTO position. Clockwise rotation of the shaft 67 brings the segment 73 of the slot 72 into alinement with the finger 71 so that the operator 36 moves from its switch operating position under the force of the spring 38.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drowse mechanism embodied in the timer 10 is well suited for inclusion in a very compact switch controlling timer, particularly since the drowse mechanism elements are peripherally positioned with respect to the timer parts. It is contemplated that the drowse cam be formed of nylon or a material having similar bearing properties so that the mechanism functions quite quietly. Since the drowse interval is determined by rotation of the relatively large minute wheel 22, and the accurately fixed length of the arcuate segment 74 of the drowse cam slot 72, the drowse interval can be quite accurately predetermined and will remain constant each time the mechanism is actuated. It will also be readily seen that the drowse mechanism illustrated and disclosed is well suited for commercial mass manufacture at reasonable cost.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a timer having a switch and a timing train with a gear wheel, the combination comprising, a shiftable switch operator movable to and from a switch operating position in which said switch is operated, a drowse cam rotatably and shiftably mounted adjacent said gear wheel, means defining a cam and follower interconnection between said drowse cam and said operator, said interconnection having a first segment allowing the operator to move to and from said switch operating position without shifting the drowse cam and to hold the drowse cam in a cocked position when the operator is not in said switch operating position, said interconnection also having a second segment allowing the drowse cam to rotate from said cocked position when the operator is in said switch operating position and to prop the operator in switch operating position by shifting of the drowse cam against said gear wheel, whereby momentarily moving said operator to switch operating position releases the drowse cam from cocked position and causes the drowse cam to hold the operator in switch operating position until said gear wheel rotates the drowse cam back into cocked position.

2. In a timer having a switch and a timing train with a gear wheel, the combination comprising, a shiftable switch operator movable to and from a switch operating position in which said switch is operated, means biasing said operator from said switch operating position, a drowse cam rotatably and shiftably mounted adjacent said gear wheel, means biasing said drowse cam away from and in the direction of rotation of said gear wheel, means defining a cam and follower interconnection between said drowse cam and said operator, said interconnection having a first segment allowing the operator to move to and from said switch operating position without shifting the drowse cam and to hold the drowse cam against its rotatable bias in a cocked position when the operator is not in said switch operating position, said interconnection also having a second segment allowing the drowse cam to rotate from said cocked position when the operator is in said switch operating position and to prop the operator in switch operating position by shifting of the drowse cam against said gear wheel, and said means biasing the operator being stronger than the means biasing the drowse cam away from the gear wheel so that momentarily moving said operator to switch operating position releases the drowse cam from cocked position and causes the drowse cam to hold the operator in switch operating position until said gear wheel rotates the drowse cam back into cocked position.

3. In a timer having a timing train with a gear wheel, the combination comprising, a shiftable operator movable to and from an operating position, means biasing said operator from said operating position, a drowse cam rotatably and shiftably mounted adjacent said gear wheel, means biasing said drowse cam away from and in the direction of rotation of said gear wheel, means defining a cam and follower interconnection between said drowse cam and said operator, said interconnection having a first segment allowing the operator to move to and from said operating position without shifting the drowse cam and to hold the drowse cam against its rotatable bias in a cocked position whenthe operator is not in said operating position, said interconnection also having a second segment allowing the drowse cam to rotate from said cocked position when the operator is in said operating position and to prop the operator in operating position by'shifting of the drowse cam against said gear wheel, and said means biasing the operator being stronger than the means biasing the drowse cam away from the gear wheel so that momentarily moving said operator to operating position releases the drowse cam from cocked position and causes the drowse cam to hold the operator in operating position until said gear wheel rotates the drowse cam back into cocked position.

4. In a timer having a switch and a timing train with a gear Wheel, the combination comprising, a shiftable switch operator movable to and from a switch operating position in which said switch is operated, means biasing said operator from said switch operating position, a manually positionable selector having an abutment for engaging said operator, said selector having a first position wherein said abutment allows said operator to move from said operating position and a second position wherein said abutment holds said operator in said operating position, a drowse cam rotatably and shiftably mounted adjacent said gear wheel, means biasing said drowse cam away from and in the direction of rotation of said gear wheel, means defining a cam and follower interconnection between said drowse cam and said operator, said interconnection having a first segment allowing the operator to move to and from said switch operating position without shifting the drowse cam and to hold the drowse cam against its rotatable bias in a cocked position when the operator is not in said switch operating position, said interconnection also having a second segment allowing the drowse cam to rotate from said cocked position when the operator is in said switch operating position and to prop the operator in switch operating position by shifting of the drowse cam against said gear wheel, said means biasing the operator being stronger than the means biasing the drowse cam away from the gear wheel so that momentarily moving said operator to switch operating position releases the drowse cam from cocked position and causes the drowse cam to hold the operator in switch operating position until said gear wheel rotates the drowse cam back into cocked position, and a lever biased toward a position blocking rotation of said drowse cam and pivoted to be swung out of said blocking position by said selector when the latter is in said first position.

5. In a timer having a timing train with a gear Wheel, the combination comprising, a drowse cam shiftably and rotatably mounted adjacent said gear wheel for movement to and from a cocked position, said drowse cam being rged from said cocked position, a biased operator, means interconnecting said operator and said drowse cam for holding said drowse cam in said cocked position until the operator is shifted against said bias, and said means also causing the drowse cam to engage said gear wheel and prop said operator against said bias when the drowse cam is moved from said cocked position, said gear wheel being effective to rotate the drowse cam when the latter is engaged therewith back to said cocked position.

6. in a timer having a switch and a timing train with a gear wheel, the combination comprising, a drowse cam shiftably and rotatably mounted adjacent said gear wheel for movement to and from a cocked position, said drowse cam being urged from said cocked position, a biased operator for said switch, means interconnecting said operator and said drowse cam for holding said drowse cam in said cocked position until the operator is shifted against said bias to a switch operating position, and said means also causing the drowse cam to engage said gear wheel and prop said operator against said bias when the drowse cam is moved from said cocked position, said gear wheel being eifective to rotate the drowse cam when the latter is engaged therewith back to said cocked position so as to release said operator for movement from said switch operating position.

7. In a timer having a timing train with a gear wheel, the combination comprising, a drowse cam shiftably and rotatably mounted adjacent said gear wheel for movement to and from a cocked position, said drowse cam being urged from said cocked position, a biased operator, means interconnecting said operator and said drowse cam for holding said drowse cam in said cocked position until the operator is shifted against said bias, said means also causing the drowse cam to engage said gear Wheel and prop said operator against said bias when the drowse cam is moved from said cocked position, said gear wheel being effective to rotate the drowse cam when the latter is engaged therewith back to said cocked position, and means for releasably holding said drowse cam in said cocked position independently of said operator.

References (Jited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,436,448 2/48 Padelford 74-3.5 3,100,961 8/63 Bassett 74--3.5 X

BROUGHTON G. DURHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A TIMER HAVING A SWITCH AND A TIMING TRAIN WITH A GEAR WHEEL, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING, A SHIFTABLE SWITCH OPERATOR MOVABLE TO AND FROM A SWITCH OPERATING POSITION IN WHICH SAID SWITCH IS OPERATED, A DROWSE CAM ROTATABLY AND SHIFTABLY MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID GEAR WHEEL, MEANS DEFINING A CAM AND FOLLOWER INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN SAID DROWSE CAM AND SAID OPERATOR, SAID INTERCONNECTION HAVING A FIRST SEGMENT ALLOWING THE OPERATOR TO MOVE TO AND FROM SAID SWITCH OPERATING POSITION WITHOUT SHIFTING THE DROWSE CAM AND TO HOLD THE DROWSE CAM IN A COCKED POSITION WHEN THE OPERATOR IS NOT IN SAID SWITCH OPERATING POSITION, SAID INTERCONNECTION ALSO HAVING A SECOND SEGMENT ALLOWING THE DROWSE CAM TO ROTATE FROM SAID COCKED POSITION WHEN THE OPERATOR IS IN SAID SWITCH OPERATING POSITION AND TO PROP THE OPERATOR IN SWITCH OP- 